General Manager AJ Preller Cleverly Hiding Padres' Plan This Winter

Maren Angus-Coombs | Nov 4, 2024

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

It might be hard for Major League Baseball to admit, but the San Diego Padres proved to be one of the best teams in baseball this season — they just ran into the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier than the New York Mets and New York Yankees.

“It’s pretty obvious right now something very special is going on in San Diego," general manager A.J. Preller told reporters on a Zoom call. "The fans love this team, love this ballpark, and the city is just so excited. And I think for us, that’s where it stings the most. … I think from Day 1, I spoke about being on that big stage. That big stage is the World Series. And we’re not going to be content until we get there as an organization, but we’ve got a lot of people very motivated to build on this year.”

Building on a largely successful 2024 season means the Padres need to rekindle the spark that fueled their impressive second-half surge, despite their unfortunate October exit.

While the passionate fan base will bring energy and support, the responsibility for real progress rests on Preller, his team, and the organization he's put together.

Preller is also keeping his offseason plans hidden.

“It’s about winning championships, doing it responsibly,” Preller said. “(Ownership) has shown repeatedly since I’ve been here that we’re going to be open, and that’s all you can ask for at this point in time. We’ll see how the offseason presents itself.”

This isn’t to say the Padres are ruling out stepping into luxury-tax territory again. However, it was hard to miss that Preller emphasized a particular word repeatedly on his Zoom call.

FanGraphs estimates show the Padres wrapped up the season with a payroll of around $169 million and a luxury-tax figure at $227 million — safely under this year’s $237 million threshold.

“These are conversations that we’re going to get into over the course of the next couple of weeks,” Preller said. “Again, in general, when I sit down and we talk about it, it’s about winning. It’s about winning championships, doing it responsibly.

“But (ownership has) shown repeatedly since I’ve been here that we’re going to be open. And that’s all you can ask for at this point in time. I think we’ll see how the offseason presents itself.”